Mission

TOYA is one of the largest CATV operators in Poland. The company, which from the beginning has based its services on innovative technological solutions, delivers digital TV, Internet and telephone services to over 170 thousand households. One of the major challenges the company has faced so far is providing the people of Łódź, Piotrków Trybunalski, Przemyśl, Pabianice, Mysłowice and Kutno with live traffic news and an overview of the biggest crossroads and the most critical areas of their city. Soon the number of cities with cameras is due to rise and include Kraków and Kołobrzeg amongst others.

TOYA looked for solutions that would fulfil specific requirements. Project objectives considered the company chose network cameras. The key issue was finding optimal software solutions to ensure transmission had the quality and format appropriate for TV needs. At the initial stage of the project, once a series of tests had been carried out, it was decided the CamStreamer application compatible with Axis cameras would be used – its unique capability of running external applications was essential to create a system in the existing form and with the existing functionalities.

Solution

The assumptions of the project were fulfilled thanks to the use of network cameras that stream live video using specifically designed TOYA applications. Because of their supreme video quality, weather resistance and available functionalities Axis Communicationscameras (AXIS P1425-E/P1425-LE and AXIS M1145) were chosen by TOYA with the CamStreamer application – the only application that performs its functions according to long established standards in TV industry (MPEG-TS video stream generated by CamStreamer). TOYA’s inner R&D department was responsible for the integration of the cameras with existing systems, and the project was successfully completed in a relatively short time.

Result

With their wide configuration capabilities and innovative functions Axis cameras provide high quality video. Accurate camera optics and video dynamic range enable effective monitoring of the traffic, while the entire system is based on the CamStreamer application. The camera system is cost effective and relatively easy to install and manage. Also, it does not require high computing power for the transcoding of video streams available from different platforms (Apple iOS, Android, PC, macOS, STB 3G).

Successful implementation of the system in Łódź along with a very positive reaction from the city’s residents have led to similar implementations in other cities of the region and a continuous expansion thereof. The solutions used make it possible to easily connect subsequent devices without the risk of overloading the system. Thanks to the use of solutions from Axis Communications that are compatible with the largest number of video management solutions (VMS) in the market and in line with the ONVIF standards the system expansion presents no problem whatsoever.